7 Best Effective Mid Back Stretches

Back pain can be annoying to a huge extent. Whether you are hunching over your desk at work repeatedly or picking up weights at the gym, mid back pain can occur anywhere and anytime. When something like this happens, mid back stretches are the ones that could be your muse.

1. Mid Back Pain

Back pain¹ is quite a common condition. A few mid-back pain conditions have a gradual and insidious onset, while some conditions occur suddenly. Males have twice the risk as females when it comes to back pain.

People who have an occupation that demands hard labor have been observed to suffer from mid-back pain more than others when compared.

Mid-back stretches are known to relieve the pain caused due to various conditions, be they muscular or neurological.

2. Causes of Mid Back Pain

There is an end number of mid-back pain causes, and mid-back stretches are the perfect remedy for this kind of pain.

Causes for mid back pain include:

2.1 Faulty Posture

Having a faulty posture can lead to mid-back pain. Carrying out mid-back stretches properly can help posture correction, further diminishing mid-back pain.

2.2 Overuse

Overusing the back muscles, ligaments, or tendons² can cause strain on the mid-back and cause pain. Mid Back Stretches help in relieving the strain and help in decreasing pain.

2.3 Injury to the Spinal Disc

The spine consists of spinal discs. These discs, if dislocated or protruded, lead to mid-back pain. Mid-back stretches help in relieving any impinged nerve that has occurred due to disc protrusion³.

3. Mid-Back Stretches to Try

3.1 Seated Twisting or Seated Turns

Procedure:

1. During this stretch, make sure to keep the spine long by sitting upright. Seated twists are intended to extend the spine; however, the twisting activity can affect the vertebrae if the back is adjusted.
2. Numerous understudies attempt to get to a more profound bend by slouching over, yet to get to the stance’s genuine advantages, keep the spine long.
3. Sit with folded legs if you feel okay, or you could also sit on a chair.
4. Breathe in, sit up tall, and position your left arm to your correct knee.
5. Breathe out and slowly wind your heart to the left side. Stretch through the spine, feeling the twist wring out pressure in your back. Point the upper chest zone outwards and feel the back open. Don’t over-turn by pulling on your knee or twisting too forcefully.
6. Look over your right shoulder just to the extent your neck will permit. Hold for 3-5 breaths and focus on one complete breathing cycle.
7. Repeat on the different side for a similar measure of time. Repeat the two sides whenever wanted.

3.2 The Passive Backbend

Procedure:

1. This one of the mid-back stretches utilizes props found easily at home. Roll a towel, yoga mat, or blanket and place it on the floor.
2. In utilizing a yoga mat, you might need to roll just a part of it according to your back adaptability and the mat’s thickness. A bigger mat roll requires greater adaptability, while a more modest one offers a more delicate delivery.
3. Lie on the roll so it leans against the lower part of your shoulder blades, near the center of your back. Raise your head, so your neck feels upheld.
4. Unwind into the stance, setting a second cover under your head as a pad if needed. Take long breaths for 3-8 seconds and relax. Repeat as needed.

3.3 Cat-Cow Pose

This spine stretch is a phenomenal method to warm the body up for more complicated stances while releasing the stiff mid-back.

Procedure:

1. Start down on the ground with your wrists straightforwardly under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2. Spread your fingers wide and disseminate weight equitably all through your hand. Press your palms and fingers into the ground to try not to put all the weight on the wrist.
3. Breathe in, gradually sending your pelvis upward and your heart forward, plunging your tummy down and your face up.
4. Breathe out. Curve your back like a cat, adjust your spine, wrap up your pelvis, and allow your head to hang free.
5. Do this 5-7 times, feeling your spine start to open, permitting the stretch to extend as you warm up.

3.4 Bridging

Procedure:

1. Lie on your back, twist your knees, and place your feet on the floor while leveling it a couple of inches from your tailbone. Your fingers ought to have contact with your heels.
2. Press your shoulders into the floor and fold them further to your back, so your chest puffs out marginally forward.
3. Press into your feet and push your hips upwards. Clasp your hands under you, supporting your arms and feet to lift your hips tenderly toward the roof.
4. Stay for 5-7 breaths before slowly dropping down, unclasping the hands, and carrying them to rest next to you.
5. Repeat 2-3 times, moving gradually and carefully as you enter and leave the stance.

3.5 Cobra Stretch

This backbend does both stretching and strengthening of the back. It tends to be enticing to utilize the arm muscles to get to a more profound backbend, yet paying attention to drawing in the back muscles.

This is a more compelling approach for pressure and strain relief as well as posture improvement. An improved stance will help pressure from aggregating in the back.

Procedure:

1. Lie on your stomach, body long, jawline face down. The placement of your hands would be under your shoulders.
2. Breathe in and lift your upper body off the ground, drawing in your back muscles. You may even lift your hands off the ground briefly to test the amount you have been engaging the back muscles.
3. Press gently into your hands to develop the stretch. Around 95% of the curve should return from the back, with the slightly additional push coming from the hands.
4. Hold this position for 2 breaths and return to the neutral position. Do it twice or thrice and relax.

3.6 Child’s Pose

Child’s Pose is a serene, extremely straightforward yoga pose. It permits the spine to stretch while the individual rests over their knees passively. This variety keeps the knees separated to extend the center stomach muscles that interface the lower back to the thigh bone.

Procedure:

1. Setting the arms over the head, slowly extends the latissimus dorsi,⁴ an enormous level muscle that associates the spine and the long arm bone.
2. Start in a stooping posture, with the hips and bottom laying on the lower legs and feet.
3. Spread the knees separated to the point that is comfortable for you. Folding the body forward, try advancing your body forward while bringing the chest down towards the knees.
4. Carry the temple to the floor, with the arms loosened up in front. The hands ought to rest on the floor, keeping the arms straight.
5. Rest here for 20–30 seconds and then return to starting position. Repeat this pose 2-3 times for best results.

3.7 Thread The Needle

Thread the needle is a yoga pose that extends the body’s sides, including the latissimus dorsi. This stretch can likewise help relax the muscles of the upper back. To get the most advantage, center around keeping the arms broadened outwards and keeping an agreeable stretch, not agonizing.

Procedure:

1. Start on all fours, with the knees straightforwardly beneath the hips and the feet by the knees.
2. Keeping the hips, knees, and feet aligned and still, walk the hands out in front until they are beneath the shoulders. Keep the arms straight, so a slight stretch is felt down the sides.
3. Please take the right arm and pass it under the left arm while turning the chest. The hand should lay on the floor, palm up.
4. Attempt to bring down the right shoulder beyond what many would consider possible while delicately putting the head right-sided onto the floor. Look past the armpit, around the roof.
5. Stand firm in this pose for 20–30 seconds.
6. Push upward, utilizing the correct arm to get back to the beginning position delicately. At that point, rehash the stretch utilizing the left arm.

4. Other Tips to Manage Mid Back Pain

A few other simple steps to help relieve back pain include :

• Keeping the spine mobile by carrying out mid-back stretches and other exercises
• Taking over-the-counter medications or painkillers if the problem persists for a very long.
• Seeking a physiotherapist in case, the condition aggravates to such an extent interferes with daily life activities.
• Practicing a good posture can do wonders.

5. Mid Back Stretches: The Bottom Line

Mid-back stretches are a sure shot way to decrease mid-back pain in the long run. Make sure to carry out these mid-back stretches regularly, and you will get to see the improvements soon enough.

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1. Hoy, Damian, et al. “The epidemiology of low back pain.” Best practice & research Clinical rheumatology 24.6 (2010): 769-781. ↩︎
2. Padulo, Johnny, et al. “Muscles, Ligaments and Tendons Journal–Basic principles and recommendations in clinical and field Science Research: 2016 Update.” Muscles, ligaments and tendons journal 6.1 (2016): 1. ↩︎
3. Nakashima, Hiroaki, et al. “Cervical disc protrusion correlates with the severity of cervical disc degeneration.” Spine 40.13 (2015): E774-E779. ↩︎
4. Jeno, Susan H., and Matthew Varacallo. “Anatomy, back, latissimus dorsi.” StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, 2023. ↩︎

Last Updated on January 27, 2024 by Sparsh Sehgal